Atom Switch's Infinitas DM will allow DMs and players to create and play campaigns using their mobile devices.

One of the universal truths of tabletop role-playing games is that a good DM can make or break a game. One of the other universal truths of RPGs is that being a good DM can be a royal pain in the ass. Between the time you have to spend preparing for a game and the effort it can take to effectively run one, the DM has to work harder than anyone else sitting at the table. More than a few have put their sweat and tears into finding ways to make this experience easier. The latest to enter the fray? The fine folks at Atom Switch.

A two-man development team founded by Dan Sandberg, Atom Switch has recently devoted its efforts to the creation of the app Infinitas DM. Built for mobile devices, it will use two screens to fashion an easy-to-use experience that allows both players and DMs to interact with their adventures. On one screen the DM will have control over an in-depth user-interface that allows them to create maps, place representative tokens and create documentation to help organize and track their campaigns. On the second screen, players will see a stripped down version of what the DM has created, complete with elements like fog of war.

Sandberg created Infinitas DM with a particular audience in mind: himself. "It's something I wanted for my own campaigns," he said, speaking to The Escapist. "I love to make big open worlds with lots of maps for my campaigns, but both of those can be tricky to use in an actual session." Looking for digital tools to help organize his increasingly complex games, Sandberg found the existing options to be lacking. "They tended to be so complex that they were difficult to learn and cumbersome to use. It seemed like no one was focusing specifically on just building worlds. Not rolling dice, or managing characters, with chat rooms and PC log-ins. Just something nice and focused on maps and lore." Keeping in line with his vision, Sandberg focused Atom Switch's efforts on creating comprehensive map tools that allow the player to draw their own maps as opposed to using pre-made tiles. The app will also allow users to import "any image file they want" and use it as a map.

Currently, Infinitas DM isn't available for purchase. That said, Sandberg hopes to launch a Kickstarter in March aimed at finishing the app so it can be released as a commercial product. He anticipates that it will cost "7 or 8 dollars" after its release and hopes to create a PC version if the Kickstarter does well and the team's budget allows for it. Speaking personally, I'd be interested in giving this a try in any of its forms. One of my biggest struggles as a DM is keeping track of the reams of maps and information I have to bring to each session. Infinitas DM looks like something that could make that a lot smoother.